What's New With The Southern Vermont Post Tropical Storm Irene Recovery Project
Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC), along with our correlating Regional Development Corporations, the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and the Bennington County Industrial Corporation applied for and received funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration Disaster Recovery Grant program. An important part of this work is to bring added professional capacity to Southern Vermont to assist with economic recovery post Tropical Storm Irene.
The project coordination team (WRC, BCRC and BDCC) were fortunate to recently hire Wendy Rae Woods and Anthony Summers to assist with this important economic recovery project. They both bring a wealth of business and planning experience to this project. Anthony and Wendy are working in Southern Vermont to assist businesses, villages and downtowns as they continue recovery from the economic impacts of Tropical Storm Irene, over the next few weeks your town may be contacted by Anthony or Wendy to request a meeting.
The Southern Vermont Post-Irene Recovery Project will take place over the next fifteen months and will include the following components:
The Creation of Business Resource Service Centers
Through the Business Resource Centers, Southern Vermont business owners and entrepreneurs will have personalized access to information about resources to assist start-ups and to help existing businesses thrive. Staff will work with businesses to evaluate their needs, provide technical assistance and act as a clearinghouse to direct clients to appropriate means of assistance. Workshops will also be held on such topics as business planning, disaster recovery-continuity of operations planning, and marketing.
Assistance with Downtown and Village Center Revitalization Planning
These efforts will focus on training sessions and a planning process to assist towns in identifying potential projects and implementation steps to increase the economic vitality and resiliency of these vital hearts of Southern Vermont communities. Workshops will also be held throughout southern Vermont on various revitalization and resiliency topics.
Development of a Southern Vermont Sustainable Marketing Strategy
Professional marketing consultants will facilitate the development of a regional mechanism to support employers and tourism-dependent businesses in creating a long-term marketing strategy for the region.
For more information contact Susan (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Laura Sibilia at BDCC (802-384-0233) or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Anthony and Wendy can be contacted at:
Anthony Summers
76 Cotton Mill Hill
Brattleboro, VT 05301
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
c: 802.451.9537
t: 802.257.7731 x 225
Wendy Rae Woods
2 East Main Street
Wilmington, VT 05356
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c: 802.451.9754
t: 802.464.8591 x 119
